On Wednesday, the Isle of Skye’s only distillery celebrated the launch of Talisker Storm by bringing the Isle’s weather, in the form of a 25 foot high interactive storm, to the banks of the Thames.

Some people were saying that a certain meteorological legend would be in attendance... So, off I scampered to bear witness as “all of the elements” of Skye’s rugged weather descended upon London: “wind, rain, lightning, fog and thunder”...

We struggled to choose just one entry; there were so many outrageous images to choose from (some more so than others)! We finally caved and decided that though there can only be one champion, there were a few entries that deserved honourable mentions (and drams). Still, there can only be one, and there was one that was truly more evolved (wink!) than the rest.

Just before we officially launched ‘That Boutique-y Whisky Company’ in the UK (and beyond), we packed up the Mini Malt Mobile (aka Ben's car, complete with boxes upon boxes of Scotch whisky, suitcases, and a ukulele), piled in, and took to the motorways and Channel to get to Maltstock, a yearly whisky festival in the Netherlands.

Pitched as "the relaxed whisky weekend" it is—indeed—"relaxing". Akin to a summer camp for whisky enthusiasts, the weekend is packed with music, bonfires, whisky masterclasses, whisky-themed games, a whisky quiz, and a veritable overdose (if that can be said) of food and friends. This was our third year in attendance, and believe me, it lives up to the hype. By the end, we were all a bit like newborn fawns: blinking in the sun and staggering gingerly about the place. We've got a flock of photos below to give you, dear reader, a taste of some of the activities to be had. A picture is worth a thousand words, they say…

They’re mixing up the medici-i-i-ine (Note – not medicine #drinkaware)

And we did like the taste!

The Filliers family have been making jenever near Deinze, not far from Ghent, for more than five generations dating back to the 19th century. More recently, they became the producers of the first double still Belgian whisky, and even more recently, Master of Malt made their fine products available in the UK retail market for the first time ever!

Excellent work: many of you successfully infiltrated The Competition! You completed all of your objectives and only a bare minimum of innocent bystanders were horribly crushed to death during your tank shenanigans!

We thought it was high time we ran another caption competition (maybe we just felt like giving away some whisky), although this time with a bit of a twist… Where we found the original of this particular image however, I really don’t know.

Personally, I find it even more perturbing than C.M. Coolidge’s paintings of dogs playing poker. (“They’re dogs… and they’re playing poker…!”)

B: Have your name automatically entered into the prize draw to win The Flask: cutting edge technology worth £600 that is currently in the hands of The Competition. (Plus a bottle of The Macallan Gold & 2 tasting glasses too!)

It was a wet and stormy winter’s night in the calendar season of spring when the note came. The wind swirled menacingly in the half-light. The atmosphere was tangibly foreboding. As I walked towards the front door of the building, the sense of dread built and a sudden, low and particularly long piano note could almost be heard. (The longer the note, the more dread.) I slowly opened the small black envelope that awaited me just inside the door, and the contents took me aback!

After our many years in the wonderful business of whisky purveyance, it’s not often that we come across something that really takes us aback. Today, however, we have the rare honour of announcing a distilling phenomenon hitherto unknown: A heady blend of spirit and science, seasoned with a shake of quackery and a dose of credulity...